The spinoff of the NBC hit "Chicago Fire," titled "Chicago P.D.," premiered on Jan. 8 on NBC. The show centers around a crooked cop with a soft side. I went into this show knowing nothing about "Chicago Fire," so I was out of the loop when it came to character development.
It wasn't the easiest night for a premiere, with CBS' popular "People's Choice Awards" for competition. According to Deadline Hollywood, even under those circumstances, "Chicago P.D." did fairly well, drawing in a 2.0 rating; however, the show actually did better than any drama that has launched in the 10 p.m. slot this season besides breakout "The Blacklist." "Chicago P.D." had a strong lead-in, though, with veteran "Law & Order: SVU," which garnered a 2.1 the night of the "Chicago P.D." premiere.
The main question that a viewer needs to ask themselves is does a dirty cop with a soft side make for a great drama? I went in unsure, but I was left wanting more, even with the lackluster character development. Maybe that even had something to do with it.
The show follows Sgt. Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) who was sent to jail because he was a corrupt cop in "Chicago Fire." During the pilot, it was revealed that Voight is now out of jail and is the head of the Intelligence Unit. He continues to play by his own rules and faces conflict with the commander of the Violent Crimes Unit.
Personally, this dynamic didn't intrigue me. When the softer side of Voight was revealed about halfway through the show, where he promises to help a young boy get out of the gang life, the show started to really pick up and became more than just another action-packed cop show. Also, the relationship that Voight seems to have with Detective Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) provides intrigue and leaves viewers wanting more.
There were a few questions that I had coming out of the premiere: What's the deal with Lindsay and Voight, who says he has big plans for her? Will the crimes-to-solve nature of the show take away from the important relationships? We'll have to wait and see. Tune in to NBC on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. to find out.
Rebecca White can be reached at rebecca.white@student.shu.edu.
